Journal Entry 70: Narrator

We rely on the narrator to tell us what is going on in a story, but what if we can’t trust the narrator? For example, in “The Tell-Tale Heart,” what clues does the author give us that the narrator is unreliable? Why would an author create an unreliable narrator? Can you think of other stories you have read in which the narrator cannot be trusted? What about in real life? How can you tell if you can believe a person who is telling you a (real or not) story?

Sometimes, we really can't trust the narrator, because what he or she thinks might not be true and correct, and might lead the audience to believe the wrong things. In "The Tell-Tale Heart", we can tell that the narrator is not to be trusted, because he keeps on saying he is not mad, but everything he says just proves that he has lost his mind. I think the author created the unreliable narrator and make them say the wrong things to prove just how wrong they really are. Like in "The Tell-Tale Heart", the narrator is not reliable and keeps on saying that he is sane, but instead, it just proves how seriously mentally unstable he is. I think I've never really read any other story that has a narrator as unreliable as the narrator in "The Tell-Tale Heart" though. In real life, people do tell a lot of very unrealistic stories and you can definitely tell that they are making it up and it's not true. An easy way to tell if someone is reliable is to just find out about his or her previous records and how trustworthy he or she is. I think someone told me before that a great way to tell if someone is lying is to just look into their eyes. But, a person can be an unreliable narrator even if they are not lying, because they might have wrong beliefs. Like for example, a little kid might say that pranking their siblings is a nice and fun thing, but you know it's not.

Journal Entry 69: Scary Stories

“The Tell-Tale Heart,” which we will be reading next, is a horror story. The author of the story, Edgar Allen Poe, is often given credit for inventing the modern horror genre. What elements do you think are necessary for a story to be scary, to be a horror story? What kinds of things are scary to you? Can you name other stories, movies, books, or real-life events that scare you? Why do you think some things are frightening?

I think suspension is the most important element for a story to be scary. Even if what happens isn't really that scary, the suspension can keep the audience on edge and ready to scream. A LOT of things are very, very scary to me. A lot of supernatural things like ghosts, zombies, mummies, werewolves, and so on and so on. Blood, guts, and insects also scares and disgusts me. A lot. Most of the famous horror movies are pretty scary. The ones I watched with my classmates during graduation trip were all very, very scary. The movies I thought were scary were: The Grudge, One Missed Call, The Ring, Insidious, and Hunting (or haunting, I forgot) in Connecticut. Those were really, really scary (even the guys screamed like little girls, ha ha). Books can be really scary too, but I generally avoid those kind of books, so I don't know many scary books. I think supernatural things terrify me because they are mysterious, and there are so many rumors about them that we kind of fear them even though we know nothing about them. Movies about paranormal things, however, are basically scarier because of the sound effect they use. For example, Insidious has a really good sound effect, so we were almost always screaming. Sound effects builds up the tension too. I think blood, guts, and insects are scary because I just can't stand them, especially my own blood (ugh). I guess I'm just not very used to seeing what's inside of me. Ewwww... Wait, I think maybe I'm not scared of blood, guts and insects, just disgusted by them. Oh well.

Journal Entry 68: My Style

A person’s style is the way he or she thinks about him or herself, as well as how he/she presents him/herself to the world. Describe your personal style. How do you dress, walk, talk, act, and think? Are you energetic? Lazy? Fashionable? Neat and tidy, or sloppy? What music do you like? Are you cool or a nerd?

I'm not exactly sure if I have a style or not. I think I'm more of the casual and whatever kind of person. I dress casually too, but not sloppily. Just simple jeans, t-shirt, and sneakers on, and sometimes sporty stuff for PE or basketball practice. I don't really know how I walk or talk or act, maybe just like any other normal fourteen year old girl. I'm pretty energetic and I always work hard... to get things I really, really want. Since we're still in eighth grade, I figured there's no need to be fashionable yet, so, nope, I'm not fashionable. I'm pretty neat at school, but, oh, you should see my room. My mom said it's the messiest place in out whole house, but I think maybe all teens have rooms like mine (I do not think it needs any tidying up, mom). As for music, I basically like any music that sounds nice. I like those with melody and then rap and then melody, those are usually quite good. I also like really cute songs and basically every type of song depending on my mood. I don't really think I'm a nerd (at least I hope not), because I do not study a lot (don't tell my parents :P), so, yeah, I don't think I'm a nerd. Not am I a jock, because I'm not stupid (people say jocks are generally not smart and gets low grades).

Journal Entry 67: Betrayal

How is the speaker in Dwight Okita’s poem, “In Response to Executive Order 9066,” betrayed by her friend? How does she respond to the betrayal? What does her response mean? Do you feel that it was an effective response? Why or why not? Have you ever felt betrayed by a friend? Describe the situation and how you felt about and responded to it.

The narrator in "In Response to Executive Order 9066" was betrayed by her best friend, Denise. Denise and the narrator used to be best friend, but when she heard about the executive order, Denise sat far away from her and blamed her for "giving secrets to the enemy" when the narrator probably never did. She gives her friend some tomato seeds in return and told her friend that when the first tomato ripens, she'll think of her. I think that her response means that even though her friend betrayed her, she still hopes that she will remember her and miss her when she's gone. I think it was not an effective response, because her friend BETRAYED her. I think she should have yelled at Denise or glare at her or curse her. Well, not a long time ago, I told a friend something that I told him not to tell anyone else. Then, another friend of mine told me my friend told him the secret. I then asked the first person if he really DID tell him and he denied, but then my other friend told me that the first person just told him that I asked him if he told him. It was pretty complicated and annoying. I really didn't know who to believe. It was very confusing, but in the end, I found out that all was just misunderstanding and the guy doesn't even really know the "secret". Quite funny, actually, but I did feel betrayed before I found out the whole story.

Journal 66: Real American

What details in Dwight Okita’s poem, “In Response to Executive Order 9066,” show that the speaker feels she is a real American? Why do you think she chose to include those details? Are they convincing? Why or why not? If you had to prove that you were a “real” Taiwanese (or whatever nationality you identify with), what kind of details would you include in your self-description? Why would you choose those details?

She says that she always feels funny using chopsticks and she likes to eat hot dogs. It shows that she's a real American because Japanese people don't usually like hot dogs and they can all use chopsticks. I think she chose to include those details because she really wants people to believe she's a true American and it was very unfair to make the Japanese go to the camps. They are quite convincing, because hot dogs are normally American food, and her not knowing how to use a chopstick proves that she's not a real Japanese. If I had to prove that I was a real Taiwanese, then I think I'll just say that I'm able to speak both Mandarin and Taiwanese, and that my dad is a Taiwanese and that I grow up in Taiwan. Maybe also that I think red is a cursed color (not really, but it's a Taiwanese "belief") and that STINKY TOFU IS THE MOST DELICIOUS THING EVER! Just kidding. It's okay, I guess, but I just don't get why foreigners hate it so much, it's not that bad after all. I'd also say that I like going to the night market in Taiwan even thought I don't go that much, and I get red envelopes. I chose these details because in Taiwan, people believe that red is a bad color and if you write your name with a red pen, you'll die or something. Taiwanese people must also either know how to speak both mandarin and Taiwanese or just know how to speak Taiwanese. My dad is a Taiwanese and my mom is Chinese and I grow up in Taiwan, so I guess I'm a two-thirds Taiwanese person. Stinky tofu is really a signature dish from the famous night markets in Taiwan, but a lot of foreigners hate it. So that shows that I like the unique food of Taiwan, and that I'm a real Taiwanese.

Journal Entry 65: General Conditions

Find several details that describe the conditions in Camp Harmony. Using these details make a generalization about Japanese internment camps in the US during World War II. Then, make one or more generalizations about all camps (including Camp PAS). Explain why you think your generalizations are accurate.

Camp Harmony is basically an "internment" camp where people of the same race go there to be bossed around by other racist people and forced to work and work and work. Some internment camps like the Nazi's of whatever even tries to kill off people. First by trying to work them to death, but after finding out that's not fast enough, they tried using gas chambers and other really cruel things. Camp Harmony is very boring and there are a lot of people there. The camp is also surrounded by barbed wires to keep the people in the camp from escaping, which is a very mean thing to do. It's like they're prisoners or something, because usually, fences are supposed to keep things "out", not "in". All Japanese internment camps in the US during the World War II is probably just like Camp Harmony, boring, insulting, and very, very crowded. Even thought my generalization of internment camps might be true, it might not be true for other camps though. A generalization for all camps, is probably only that it's some kind of event where people gather and do things together. And, there are always supervisors for camps. Also, that all camps kind of change people. For example, in our Camp PAS, people make friends and get to know one another, and in some summer camps, people or kids learn survival skills or academic things or just social skills. In internment camps, for example, people also change. They might lose hope and have lower self-esteem because of the way they were treated.

Journal Entry 64: Camp Harmony

Monica Sone, the author of “Camp Harmony,” says her camp “was hopefully called Camp Harmony” (p. 470). What does “harmony” mean? Do you think the name is appropriate? Why do you think Sone used the adjective “hopefully” to describe the name? If you had to give the camp a name, what would you call it? Why?

Harmony can have two meanings. One is about music, and it's basically notes played at the same time that sounds nice and pleasing. The other meaning is basically just things that go well together and is pleasant. According to Dictionary.com, harmony means agreement, accord; a consistent, orderly, or pleasing arrangements of parts; congruity; simultaneous combination of tones; agreement; accord; harmonious relations; or an arrangement of the contents of the Gospels, either of allfour or of the first three, designed to show their parallelism,mutual relations, and differences. I don't think the name of Camp Harmony was appropriate at all, because it is seriously an awful, awful place. It's cheap and it's just there because of racism. Plus, those Japanese were forced to live there, so it's not really "pleasant". That place even has barbed wired fences to keep them in! I think Sone used the adjective "hopefully" because the camp is really awfully, and it's hopefully named Camp Harmony even though it's not harmonious at all. The people that named the camp probably also "hope" the Japanese living there will behave and believe it's really a pleasant and awesome place. If I could name the camp, I'd name it Camp Awful, because I'm a straightforward person and the camp is just simply awful.

Journal Entry 63: Camp Pictures

Look at the pictures on pages 471 and 476. Choose one and describe what you see. Then write about what you think it would be like to live in that place. Would it be similar to how you live now, or different? Explain.

I chose the picture on page 471. I see a lot of houses on the side a of very broad road in the picture. The houses look very empty and not very big. The houses also have a green roof. The sky is very blue. The place looks really empty though, and it seems as if nothing's happening there at all. It looks like it's deserted and there's one person in the picture. There's also a stop sign in the picture and there are some telephone poles. It is not similar to how I live now at all. I live in a community, you see. Our community is pretty crowded too, there are like around 100 houses in our whole community and three tall buildings or apartments. There are always some people walking around, since our community is quite very big. The place in the picture looks like it's empty and super simple. It seems as if nothing will ever happen there and it looks like a pretty awfully boring place to live in. I bet there are no computers or any electronic devices (except for telephone, maybe, since there are telephone poles after all) and there are no cars at all! I cannot believe that. In my community, there are always cars driving around and parked along the roads or something. It's really weird, but the good thing is that I think the people living in the picture don't have to go to school! Because who would bother about school if they live in that kind of place? So, that's pretty awesome! I also think it'll probably be really inconvenient living there, because there are no cars and there aren't much stores around the place. In our community, there's a convenient store just next to our community and lots of other stuff near. So the place is the picture is VERY different from the place I live.

Journal Entry 62: Spring Break

Write about how you spent your time over Spring Break. Did you do what you wanted to do, or were there things you wanted to do but didn’t get to? Write about how happy you are to be back in school.

I went to Bali the graduation trip and it was AWESOME. We were really crazy there and thankfully there weren't a lot of people their to witness us being so weird and very, very childish. We stayed up until three and it was really, really fun! The first day, we were just playing cards and truth or dare and normal things like that. The following days though, we were singing (he he) and watching quite a lot of scary movies. Ha ha! I enjoy hearing all the guys scream, because their whole facial expressions and the way they jump a mile back is just priceless. We went swimming every single day, and we insulted an Australian guy in Chinese because he was very cocky and thinks we're not as good as he is (which is so not true and simply makes him look even stupider!). We played basketball and soccer there, went snorkeling (it was really beautiful, but someone stepped on the coral reef!!!), SHOPPING, a lot of other really fun things that I can't recall right now! It was really, really, really, fun! I'm not happy about coming back to school AT ALL. NOT HAPPY AT ALL, because school means homework which means no fun time which means parents making me go to bed early. Oh, and I got sick too.